Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of Production Planning to learn about basics such as the production pipeline, budget analysis and production planning.

All images from Inspired 3D Short Film Production by Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia, series edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford. Reprinted with permission.

How Much Does It Cost to Produce a Typical CG Short?
Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question because there is really no such thing as a “typical” CG short. The cost will depend on the complexity and length of the film, the size and cost of the team, and the amount of assets needed versus those already available.

For instance, Squaring Off was created by a single individual using pre-owned hardware and software. The only asset that was purchased specifically for the film was a piece of copyright-free music downloaded from the Internet for $15. Let’s assume, however, that no assets had previously existed for this film. The cost of the equipment used for this production would have been as follows:

• $2,000 for a computer (1.8GHz Pentium III, 512MB of RAM, GeForce3 video card, 60GB hard drive)

• $1,100 for a digital camcorder used for sound effects recording

• $12 for a camcorder tape

• $2,000 for Maya 4.0 CG software

• $600 for Adobe Premiere used for sound FX synching

• $15 for music

The total for all of this comes to $5,727. Of course, if certain assets had not been already available, a certain degree of budget shaving would have taken place. For example, the sound effects could have been recorded using a $10 microphone rather than an expensive camcorder, which was used only because the director already owned one. Adobe Premiere was also a pre-owned luxury item. The sound-synching could have been accomplished within Maya, although the process would have been less efficient.

Many students are given access to all the equipment they need as part of their tuition fees. Therefore, the total cost of films such as Venice Beach, Mickey’s Buddy, El Arquero, Horses on Mars and Run, Dragon, Run!!! would basically be the price of tuition for the necessary number of semesters at the appropriate schools. For example, Sheridan College in Ontario runs approximately $11,000 per year for their computer animation program. Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, charges around $17,000 per year for tuition. California Institute of the Arts in Valencia costs approximately $22,000 per year. Also keep in mind that these numbers do not include fees and housing.